Karnataka to constitute Innovation Authority to support latest

The Karnataka government would come out with a revised information technology policy, and constitute an Innovation Authority, and a vision group for startups, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said on Thursday.

Addressing senior executives of IT and biotech industry at an interactive meeting here, he said Karnataka contributes close to 40 per cent of the country's exports, and accounts for about 35 per cent the nation's biotechnology market share.

The government, in association with industry partners, is keen on taking up large-scale upskilling and reskilling of local workforce, the Chief Minister said.

"I encourage the industry to actively utilise local workforce who have the potential to be gainfully employed," Yediyurappa said.

Karnataka, he said, is on a mission to promote faster and inclusive growth.

"We recognise the prominence of IT to achieve this goal and we are going to announce the revised IT policy in the coming days," he said.

The policy will focus on attracting investments and employment to tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

He invited IT and BT companies to invest in cities like Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad and Belagavi, where "vibrant ecosystems already exist".

To support latest technologies, the government is going to announce Karnataka Innovation Authority under his chairmanship and Deputy Chief Minister, C N Ashwath Narayan, who holds the IT and BT and Science and Technology portfolios, as the co-chairman, Yediyurappa said.

The Chief Minister also announced that the government will constitute a vision group for startups, which will provide insights on strengthening the startup ecosystem, involving key stakeholders from industry and academia.